The Gifted
by jasonyut
Summary: What if the 75th floor wasn't where it all ended? What if Heathcliff and Kirito weren't the only ones with Unique Skills? What if 7 of them were unlocked...by Kirito's friends? And what if those players started a guild? Welcome to The Gifted. Rated M for future content. OC coming soon!
1. Chapter 1

**Hi guys! Sorry it took me so long to finally get my next story up. It took a while to even get through the first chapter of the draft. My process always begins on hard-copy paper, so I write it out by hand and... Anyway, the concept of this is SO AWESOME! I hope you like it! Reviews, if you please :3 Also, this story will have longer wait periods for updates because I'm trying to make each chapter at least 1,000+ words. It's also going to have many, many chapters. Hope you enjoy!**

**I do not own SAO or any of its characters.**

Dual-Blades, Holy Sword, Speed Sword, Axe of Truth, Beast-Tamer, Masonry, and Longsword. Those were the seven Unique Skills unlocked in Sword Art Online so far.

Dual-Blades was awarded to the player with the speediest reaction time, and granted dual-wielding to the user. Kirito possessed this skill.

No one really knew what Holy Sword's requirements were, or what it did. The only one who possibly did was its owner, Heathcliff.

Speed Sword was given to the player with the fastest attack speed in the game. It allowed the player to attack at three times the normal speed of all other players. Asuna, Kirito's wife, owned this Skill.

Axe of Truth had been given to the player who was first to master their Strength and Axe Skills. It increased the user's attack damage by fifty percent, and one-hundred-fifty percent when wielding an axe. Agil had worked hard, mastering those two.

Beast-Tamer belonged to the player who managed to tame eight different mobs at once. Its affect gave the player a thirty-five percent chance of passing by hostile mobs without getting attacked. Silica had been the only beast-tamer who was able to tame all eight.

Masonry activated for a blacksmith and a blacksmith only. They had to master their Blacksmith Skill and defeat two-hundred hostile mobs at least four levels above them with a mace. Gaining the Skill gave the user twenty-percent more attack damage, and at the end of every battle, no matter what kind of weapon or armor they were using, all of it would regain one-hundred-twenty percent of the durability it had lost during the battle. Unfortunately, it would not resurrect a weapon or piece of armor that had been destroyed in battle. Lisbeth had been able to meet all the requirements.

Longsword was probably the simplest Unique Skill earnable in SAO. It was awarded to the player who first mastered the Katana Skill. It increased a sword's reach by twenty-five percent while still maintaining the same weight and feel. Klein was the man who mastered Katana.

Kirito's friends had started earning Skills after the seventy-fifth boss battle. After defeating the boss, Heathcliff and the other KOB members (except Asuna) had immediately opened the seventy-sixth floor gate and stepped through. While Agil ran around hoarding as much loot as he could, Asuna stared straight at her status screen. With a soulless expression, she pressed the button that made it visible to Kirito. The window that popped into his view said, "Congratulations! You earned the Unique Skill: Speed Sword!"

Kirito drew in a sharp breath. "Great," he muttered into Asuna's ear. "Just what we need. You're already a celebrity. Do we tell the rest of Aincrad?"

"Yes, of course," she sighed. "Anything we can do to give the people hope and rally more of them for boss raids is incredibly helpful to the process of clearing the game."

Kirito nodded, closing his eyes. He rested his chin on her head and hugged her from behind. "Can we hold off on it for a while, though? That little house on twenty-two is still ours. We're both still a bunch of levels above everyone else, too much for them to keep up with. We can still finish our honeymoon."

Asuna turned to him. She stared at his face, obviously struggling to make a decision. "I-I guess as long as they're still clearing seventy-six…yeah. Let's go home." She pecked him on the cheek.

* * *

><p>Agil's was the first message to come. Kirito and Asuna had returned home, and were happily laughing and fishing with Nishida when it popped into his view. He excused himself and walked a good twenty meters away before tapping the small, blinking icon.<p>

_Kirito, _it read, _I really need your help, man. Major, major deal. Could you and Asuna head over to the shop tomorrow? Very urgent. _Kirito sighed. _This _was what he needed. What he should really be doing was getting Asuna home, finding their way clumsily into the bedroom and… He grinned as he realized she would slap him if she knew what she was thinking. He also realized he didn't care.

"Oi! Kirito!" Nishida called. "You finally got something on your line!" Hearing this, Kirito rushed over to where they were sitting, determined to show Asuna that, yes, he _could _fish.

"What the hell, man?!" Agil was raving like a lunatic. "I asked you to come three freaking days ago! Three! DAYS!"

Kirito laughed nervously. "Sorry…" he walked around the shop awkwardly. "Asuna and I…uh…lost…track of time." This didn't seem to help Agil's mood.

"FOR THREE DAYS?!"

"Hi, Agil!" Asuna waved cheerfuly from the doorway. He momentarily forgot his anger and waved back, just as cheerfully. Kirito seized the moment.

"So, uh, so Agil," he cut in. "What was so important?" Agil shot him a dirty look, then sighed and waved them over. He made his status screen visible and motioned to his Skills.

"Read 'em," he said. Kirito scanned the list. Strength, Agility (which he had almost none of), Axe, Curved Sword, Search, and many more. At the bottom was something Kirito had never heard of: Axe of Truth.

"Oh, jeez," Asuna breathed.

"Is it… Y'know, Unique?" Kirito asked.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure it is," Agil responded. "And, y'know, I thought since you're the only guy I know who has one, you would be able to help me out with this." Kirito and Asuna looked at each other slowly.

"…Yeah, about that," said Kirito.

"You may not be the only person you know who has a Unique Skill," Asuna said.

* * *

><p>"… Holy… Wow." Agil stared at Asuna from across the table. "So both of us, then?"<p>

Asuna blushed a little. "Yeah, I guess."

"Can I see it in action?" Agil begged, eagerness in his eyes. Asuna shrugged and walked over to the lamp on the other side of the room, noisily unsheathing her rapier. She dropped into her battle stance and almost immediately a flash of light blinded the room. The lamp disintegrated into a crowd of glowing polygons. Agil stared and Kirito sat with pride as Asuna straightened up and re-sheathed her rapier.

"I literally _did not _see you move" Agil gushed. "And with one hit- holy smokes!"

Asuna laughed awkwardly. "That was ten hits." Agil's jaw practically hit the floor.

"Soooooo…" Kirito sat back in his chair, putting his feet on the table. "Now that I no longer feel like an outcast in Aincrad, I'll bite. What does Axe of Truth do for you, Agil?"

He grinned. "It raises my attack damage by fifty percent when I don't use an axe, but when I _do, _it raises it by _one-hundred-fifty percent._" Kirito ogled.

"Guys…" Asuna started. "We should totally start a guild!"

"What?" Kirito and Agil asked at the same time.

"Oh, come _on, _guys!" she continued. "We can't be the only ones with Unique Skills! There have to be others! If we found them and started a guild, we would easily surpass the KOB for the strongest guild, and the rest of Aincrad would be _so inspired! _We would be a clearing _machine! _We could finish the game in a matter of months, I bet!"

"…OK," Agil said slowly. "Yeah, you're right! Let's do it!" Kirito looked at both of them in confusion.

"I-bu-g-ugh!" He hung his head. "Fine. If it makes you happy, Asuna." Asuna gave a cry of joy and flung her arms around them both.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, I know I said that updates would take longer on this story, but I was a hypocrite on this chapter... ANYWAY! They actually will be taking longer, because I actually only JUST STARTED drafting chapter three. Anyway, I hope you enjoy! Feedback is always welcome! Suggestions too! _UPDATE: I am taking longer than expected with Chapter 3. I am SWAMPED with auditions and rehearsals right now (I GOT A PART IN LES MISERABLES YES) so it probably won't be out for a little while more. Sorry guys! Stick with me!_**

"Why do _I _have to be the leader of the guild?" Kirito whined.

"Because," Asuna said, squishing his face between her hands, "you're the strongest player in all of Aincrad, let alone the guild. It's only logical." She released him and skipped off down the street, her chestnut hair bouncing with her. She was the one who had deemed him leader in the first place, not surprisingly. She was also the one who had named it: "The Gifted".

"Look, there's a reporter," Agil said, pointing to a man in green gear and holding a Capture Crystal. He was attempting to talk to a few people, but didn't seem to be having much luck.

"Excuse me, sir!" Kirito called.

"We have a big story for your newspaper," Agil shouted. The man walked over, and after a few minutes of talking, his eyes went wide. He fumbled with his Crystal until he finally managed to take a picture of the three friends. He then ran off down the street, laughing like a man who had won something.

"Well," said Asuna dryly, "That made him happy."

"Uh," Kirito babbled. "Let's- uh- go home, I guess."

* * *

><p><strong> Unique Skills Guild Uncovered: Are You Hiding One Yourself? <strong>The headline appeared the day after the interview with the strange reporter. Though it _did _bother him to be in the newspaper at all, what really pissed Kirito off was how people were taking the news. Sure, people were excited that more Unique Skills were popping up and that the people with them planned to form a super guild, but was that _really _the important news? Oh no. The _really _important news was that two of the biggest celebrities in Aincrad, Asuna and Kirito, were married.

Kirito threw the paper away in disgust and sat back on their couch, folding his arms. _People, _he thought, shaking his head absentmindedly. He needed to be doing something, _anything _to distress.

"Hey, guys?" he called into the kitchen. "I have an idea!"

"Don't strain yourself," Agil said, walking into the room. "Last time that happened smoke came out of your ears."

"Shut up, I'm serious," Kirito replied, shoving Agil a little. "We should go check out the seventy-sixth floor dungeon today. We need to work on our strategy as a guild, right?"

"Actually, he just wants to kill something," Asuna shouted from the kitchen, poking her head into the doorway. She stuck her tongue out at him playfully and then went back to cooking.

Kirito shot a look in her direction before sighing and saying, "Look, I can go by myself if-"

"Nah," Agil interrupted, stretching his arms and grinning at him. "Let's go."

* * *

><p>It turned out that the seventy-sixth floor dungeon had a river theme, with winding pathways of polished stone surrounded by flowing water. It even featured a few waterfalls, lily pads, floating logs, and swamp trees.<p>

"Raaah!" Agil roared as he unleashed a vicious uppercut with his axe, sending the amphibian-like creature sprawling into the water. Its health had already been sent into the red zone (with one hit, Agil would later remind them), but as the three of them watched, the creature threw back its head and screeched while the rest of its health slowly drained away, stunning it every few seconds. After maybe another minute, the creature exploded into a shower of polygons.

"…Okay," Asuna said slowly, "I say we stay away from the water. All in favor?" Kirito's and Agil's hands shot into the air so fast that the speed rivaled Asuna's Skill.

They walked for another ten minutes before rounding a corner, then traveled another few meters before a door in the wall opened directly in front of them, smacking Kirito in the face. He gasped sharply as he went down, pixelated blood spraying from his nose.

His companions scrambled to help him up, shouting "are you OK?"s and "do you need a potion?"s, but a second later a sound coming from behind the door made them stop. Someone was sobbing. There was a distinctive _thud, _and then more sobbing.

With a grunt, Kirito pushed himself off the ground and wiped his nose with his sleeve. Drawing Dark Repulser from its sheath, he peered around the door, only to immediately re-sheath the blade and rush to the fallen figure's side.

It was Klein. His katana was on the ground next to him, his bandana was lose, and tears streamed down his face. At Kirito's touch, his eyes opened slightly and registered who was with him.

"K-Kir-KIRITO!" he wailed, burying his face in his hands.

"Klein, what's wrong?!" Kirito asked, desperate to help. He would _not _have another friend die on him. "Are you hurt bad?"

"Poisoned?" Asuna questioned.

"Broke?" Agil added bluntly, but Asuna shot him a withering look and he receeded.

"M-my guild…" Klein stuttered, "Everyone…all my friends…they all DIED!" He pulled Kirito into a bear hug, knocking the wind out of him and practically breaking his ribs.

Kirito went down hard on his rear, and as he stood back up, he winced. "Klein, you have to tell us what happened."

Hearing this, Klein looked at Kirito with a dark, menacing expression. "You should know," he sobbed. "You should know how they died."

Kirito nodded. _Of course I know how. I just didn't want to believe it. _

Klein was standing now, his body wrecked with exhaustion and grief. He picked up his katana, and holding the blade high, screamed, "Why?!" and swung downwards. The sword assist activated, and the flash of light was blinding. There was a metallic _clang! _and a sharp grinding sound as the blade hit the ground… Except that it hadn't. A deep cut had appeared in the ground about half a meter from the end of the katana.

"…What the…" Agil whispered.

* * *

><p>Kirito ran his hand through his thich, black hair. He was back on twenty-two, lying in bed with Asuna snuggled up to him, her head resting on his chest and his arm wrapped around her. It had been a stressful day, to say the least, and now Klein was sleeping on their couch. Even though he and Asuna were (somehow) able to sleep, Kirito could barely bring himself to close his eyes.<p>

A sigh escaped his lips as he thought the day over. Another Unique Skill uncovered, and once again, it was someone he knew. Given, there were only about six thousand players still alive in SAO, and the number was decreasing daily, but Kirito used to be a solo player. He knew, like, thirteen people. Tops. The whole ordeal was getting strange.

Kirito stared at the ceiling and remembered what Klein had said about the death of his friends. _The same way, _he thought. His eyes stung a little as he tightened his arm around Asuna. _They died the same way as Sachi._ Kirito looked at his wife, soundly asleep next to him, and kissed the top of her head lightly. _I will protect you, _he promised silently. _You and everyone else. I will never let anything happen to you. To us. _


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! Wow, almost a month since I updated this. I know that I edited it into this section of the last chapter, but here's why I haven't been posting lately: I got swamped with rehearsals and auditions, and I actually got cast in a second show (Les Miserables, suckers! YES!). I also finally started writing my own show, so that is also going to be taking up a lot of my time. So expect updates to be a bit more spaced out and a bit more random. Stick with me guys!**

The next day was almost as awkward for Kirito as it had been when he had first started partying with Asuna. She had left earlier that morning to bring all of their gear to Lisbeth for "spiffing up", as she put it, and Kirito was stuck trying to cheer up Klein. Which, for the record, he had _no idea _how to do.

"She didn't even leave us any breakfast…" he grumbled, sighing at his own inability to cook. Klein was still sulking, in a chair by the kitchen table. He looked up wearily as Kirito pulled another one next to him and sat down.

"What am I supposed to do, Kirito?" his voice caught at the end of his sentence, as he was trying not to start crying once more.

Kirito thought for a moment, and carefully replied, "You have to remember them, Klein. And you have to do it well. You are the _only one_ who knows the whole story of how they died. You owe it to them." _At least they didn't hate you at the end, _he thought to himself, bitterly.

Klein's eyes were shining as he rested his head on the table. His shoulders shook with silent sobs, and Kirito sighed. He felt bad for Klein, but honestly, social skills were _not _his forte, and he had no idea what to do.

Suddenly, a soft _bing! _sounded in his ear, and a small, glowing circle appeared in front of him. It was a message from Asuna.

_Need your help up here at Liz's, _it read. _Slight…issue._

* * *

><p>The familiar chime of the door opening rang through the store as Kirito and Klein entered Asuna and Agil were in the corner, trying to comfort a sobbing Lisbeth.<p>

Kirito walked over and kissed Asuna and kissed her on the cheek. "What's wrong?" he murmured in her ear.

"Liz has something to tell us-" she was cut off by Liz pulling both of them into a hug and sobbing into Kirito's coat. Kirito pointed at her and mouthed to Asuna, _what? _She just shrugged.

"Uh, Liz," Kirito said, placing a hand on her head. "What's wrong?" She managed to pull herself together to look up at him and smile.

"S-sorry," she said. "I've just been keeping this a secret for a while. I need to tell you guys, but it's easier to show you."

* * *

><p>By the time the five of them arrived at the Town of Beginnings, Lisbeth had completely calmed down. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for Klein, who was still considering the world through a blank gaze.<p>

They walked to the outskirts of the city and found a group of the boar-like mobs Kirito had originally taught Klein to kill the first day of SAO.

"Okay!" Liz spun around and held out her hands to them all. "Someone hand me their weapon." Because he loved to tease her, and he knew that not being strong enough would annoy her, he drew Eluciadator and dropped it into Liz's hands.

She flashed him a smile. "Nice try," she said, twirling the sword like a twig.

Kirito laughed. "Upping your strength, eh?"

"You have no idea. I _am _a blacksmith, after all." Liz took a shaky breath. "Ok, what I'm about to do is crazy, so just pay close attention, OK?" She pressed the icon next to the sword that opened up its statistics menu. "Look at the durability," she said. "It's at seventy-three percent, right?" The rest of the group nodded like the good little students they were. "Now! Watch my greatness." She whirled on her heel and faced one of the boars. Holding the sword with an easy casualty, she charged. Activating a Sword Skill, she swung in a blinding flash of light. The boar didn't even know what hit it, and it squealed in apparent outrage as it exploded into a mist of polygons.

The rest of the group clapped politely as Liz sprinted back to them, yelling, "No! I'm not done! Stop clapping!" She pulled up the statistical data again and pointed to the durability again. "Look!" Asuna gasped and covered her mouth as the rest of the group leaned in for a closer look.

"Ninety-three percent…?" Kirito whispered.

Even Klein had been shocked out of his grief. "Liz…" he said. "This is…GREAT!" He laughed like his old self. "Have we got an offer for you!"

* * *

><p>"Oh, my God." It was around the thirtieth time Liz had said it after they invited her into the guild. Kirito, Agil, and Klein were chuckling lightly to themselves at her reaction, and Asuna had been the one to explain it all.<p>

"How could you not tell me?" Liz asked, pointing an accusatory finger at her.

As the girls bickered, something began to scratch at the back of Kirito's mind. _Unique Skills are given to _one _player in the entire game, _he thought. _Plus, there are only ten of them. There are almost five-thousand-eight-hundred people still alive in Aincrad. How is it that only the people _I _know are earning these skills? _

Sudden realization ran through Kirito's head like a lightning bolt. He jumped over to Asuna to give her a quick kiss, then ran towards the portal gate, yelling, "I have to check something!" over his shoulder.

* * *

><p>Silica had literally never been happier in all her time in Aincrad. She sat on a bench in the town on the sixty-eighth floor, surrounded by mobs. Eight different mobs, all of which she had tamed. There was Pina, of course, but there was also a dog-like creature, a small fish with four legs, a slightly larger-than-realistically-possible frog, a panther-like mob, a bird resembling a hawk, a small lizard with black and orange spots, and to the dismay of many hungry people and top cooks, a ragout rabbit.<p>

With Pina on her shoulder and the rest of her "pets" by her side, Silica felt invincible. She made a "superwoman" face in the dark, daring any foe to come near. Nothing, no _one _could hurt the mighty-

"I guess now that you know about the Hill of Memories, you can afford to have all of these familiars." Silica sprang up so fast that she tripped over her own feet, falling flat on her face. Pina shrieked as they plummeted down.

"Haha, sorry," said the voice. Silica got to her feet and spun around to see who it was. Not a foot in front of her stood Kirito.

Silica's face flushed so red that she was sure she looked like a tomato. She was distantly aware of the Black Swordsman as he talked, but she was a bit more interested in the crossed blades on his back. The last time she had seen him, he was still keeping the Skill a secret and only fought with one. As amazing as he was with one sword, she longed to see a fight where he used both.

Silica snapped back to reality (or whatever you could really call the world of Aincrad) when she realized that Kirito had stopped talking and was looking at her funny.

"Y-yes, of course!" she said, nodding confidently.

"Uh, I, uh…asked how you were doing…"

"Oh! Heh," she felt her blush spread to her ears. "I'm- I'm doing great! I mean, look at all of my pets!" She spun in circles, laughing as she took in her faithful companions, all of which she had worked hard to tame. Kirito watched, amused by her childlike behavior. She didn't really look like Suguha at all, but he would never tell her that, as that was how they met, with him telling her those words exactly. He still couldn't quite pinpoint why that had tumbled out of his mouth, but it had, and now he couldn't do anything about it.

Silica was still playing with her familiars, so Kirito shifted his weight to the other foot and cleared his throat awkwardly. Silica immediately stopped spinning and faced him, her face red again, embarrassed by getting carried away.

"Silica," Kirito started, "I, um, need you to do something for me." She blinked slowly.

"…Okay, what?"

"I need to see your list of Skills."

Silica's breath caught in her throat, causing her to emit a small cough. "W-why?"

"Just trust me," he said, and stepped closer.

"Um, 'k…" Silica's voice was wavering, but she opened her window anyway and made it visible to him. Kirito scrolled through the list until he found a Skill he had never heard of: Beast-Tamer.

"Damn," he cursed under his breath.


End file.
